


Got Your Back

by Sinkme



Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, it's so fluffy I'm gonna die
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-15 07:42:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/524846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinkme/pseuds/Sinkme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The team comes together when they discover Clint's in need of some comfort. Pay heed to the tags because it was late when I wrote this and I was in need of some mindless adorableness with these guys.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Got Your Back

Tony often joked about Clint having nests but they never realized that it was true.

Not nests, per say, but definitely favored locations where he would perch, for lack of a better word, and despite Tony’s warnings, he'd explored the ventilation shafts and secret passages in the Tower as well. 

On missions they actually were nests. Sniper’s nests. Where he would crouch for hours, heedless of the weather and his own discomfort, until he had the shot he needed or until the fight was done.

Of course, this put a strain on his body, no matter how used to it he was or how often he conditioned. 

Which is why they found him one morning in the main den, his mattress on the floor and too many blankets and pillows cushioned around him to count, with just a patch of brown hair sticking out from underneath. 

Natasha was curled up near him, close enough to rest a hand comfortingly on what looked like his shoulder but far enough away that even Tony couldn’t insinuate anything. 

She stirred when they approached and glared, making a shooing motion with her hand. 

They piled into the kitchen and Natasha was there a moment later. 

“Don’t you dare wake him up,” she threatened, glaring only at Tony.

He held his hands up defensively, “Don’t get all assassin-y on me. He has a room to sleep in. The den has the best TV and I want to watch something.”

“What ‘something’?” she asked coolly. 

“A sports game,” he shot back. 

“It’s _Supernanny_ , isn’t it?”

“I don’t have to-”

“Enough,” Steve cut in. “Tony, you hate watching sports, you can watch your show- _whatever_ it is- on one of the other dozen televisions in the Tower. Natasha, why is Clint sleeping in there?”

“He returned from his mission last night but messed up his back. I found him asleep on the couch when I woke up,” she answered. 

“Then how did the mattress get here?” Bruce asked. 

Natasha’s glare silenced most of them. Keyword: most.

“No frickin way,” Tony’s voice rose and he got a smack on the arm. “Whoa, hey, easy there.” He put his hands up in what was usually considered a placating gesture. “I call bull. No way you moved that mattress. It’s top of the line, it weighs- ok so I don’t know how much it actually weighs, but it took _two_ moving guys with arms just a little smaller than Thor’s to get it into the Tower.”

Natasha just raised an eyebrow.

No one had the guts to question her further.

Bruce chose to move on, “Is that normal for him?”

“Sleeping anywhere or hurting his back?” Natasha was quick to ask. 

“Let’s go with both,” Tony offered. 

“He’ll only crash in the first free spot after a mission if he’s hurt. His most frequent injury is some kind of strain to his back or shoulders. I got some muscle relaxers into him when he moved onto the mattress so he _should_ sleep for a while,” she leveled another glare at Tony to suggest that if for some reason Hawkeye woke up it would be his fault. 

“Noted,” Tony gulped. They’d learned not to mess with Natasha when she got like this. 

“A day of rest is appropriate for us all,” Thor proclaimed. They were all still in their down-time clothes, baggy and comfortable, in the wake of what had been a couple of stressful days. 

Thor left without another word and no one moved, not really sure what their friend meant. 

Tony looked to Bruce, who shrugged. Steve looked torn between letting Thor do whatever it was that the god was doing and going after him to make sure he didn't destroy anything unintentionally. 

Several minutes later Thor walked back in, “I require more blankets and pillows, Anthony.”

Tony rolled his eyes but Steve cut off the inevitable comment with his own question, “What do you need them for, Thor?”

“Clinton is injured and I mean to offer him comfort in his rest,” Thor said simply. 

Natasha got it first and offered a genuine smile and patted Thor on his shoulder as she walked by him and back towards the den. 

They followed her and watched silently as she curled back into her former position. 

Thor’s mattress, sheets and all, was next to Clint’s mattress and between the two of them the floor was almost completely covered. 

“Oh,” Steve breathed. 

Tony’s face brightened, “Slumber party. I’ll grab some-”

Bruce’s hand covered his mouth, “Let’s just all get some more sleep and not ruin the moment.”

Together the four of them walked to each bedroom to retrieve more blankets and pillows and made their way back to the den. Tony had snagged a heating blanket- “It’s Pepper’s”- and plugged it in before draping it over the archer’s exposed back while he slept on his stomach. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Clint woke up feeling surprisingly pain free and well rested. And his back was warm. 

That was interesting. 

He shifted onto his back carefully and noticed the heating pad. It was soon forgotten as he noticed a form next to him. Pulling himself up he sat and looked around the room. 

A small smile lit his face as he looked at his team. 

Thor was a huge furnace at his left, and Natasha was curled on his other side. He couldn’t tell where Tony had started out, unless he actually had fallen asleep completely draped over Bruce and Steve, but it looked like he had rolled over to be in the middle of them on Thor’s far side. 

He still felt drowsy and the warmth and safety was calling to him so he laid back down and curled a blanket up to his ears, content in the knowledge that his team had his back.


End file.
